Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of scouring pads knwon in the art, for example, there are abrasive steel wool pads, consisting of a bundle of metal fibers. Some of those pads are impregnated with soap or with a mixture of soap, detergent, sodium carbonate, perfume and dye. These cleaning ingredients are only on the surface of the steel wool fibers. Thus, when the pads are immersed in water, all or most of the cleaning agent is quickly removed from them into the water. Also, the wet steel wool pads rust and deteriorate within one to two days from the time they are initially used. Consequently, because they quickly lose their cleaning ingredients and rust badly, a steel wool pad can only be used once or twice and thrown away.
Another type of scouring pad known in the art consists of a carded batt of fibers, such as nylon or polyester or rayon or mixture of fibers. The batt is impregnated or sprayed with an adhesive emulsion containing an abrasive material such as silica particles, and dried. The batt of adhesive bonded fibers and abrasive is cut into pads that are about 1/4" thick and 4" wide and 6" long. No cleaning agent is applied to the pads except by users. Another form of scouring pad is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,080,688 and consists of a layer of the adhesive and abrasive treated fiber batt, noted immediately above, laminated to a layer of cellulose sponge which had been impregnated with a detergent solution.
A fourth type of scouring pad is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,610 and consists of a cellulose sponge with tufts of synthetic filaments imbedded in its thickness spaced about 1/2" apart and extending above one surface of the sponge to serve as scrubbing bristles.
A fifth general type of scouring pad known to the art consists of a polyurethane foam pad 1/4" or 1/2" thick with either an extruded plastic netting or knitted synthetic fabric wrapped around the foam. One product of this type contains a plastic netting, in an embossed pattern, heat-fused to one side of the urethane foam.
Another cleaning and scouring pad known in the art is based on an abstract of British Patent No. 1,093,900 and consists of a coherent pad of random fibers in which is incorporated a resinous binder and a washing composition. The resin and soap or detergent which can be applied either together or separately are applied to the surface of the pad fibers.
All such scouring or cleaning pads known have shortcomings and disadvantages. Many of them do not contain a cleaning agent, and those that do are merely impregnated with a soap or detergent or washing composition. That is, those pads that are treated with a scouring agent have it only on the surfaces or in the interstices of the pads. Thus, the cleaning composition is easily and quickly removed from the pads. In addition, the most common steel wool pads quickly rust and deteriorate. Also, all of the products known in the art as scouring pads have harsh abrasive surfaces which can damage the surfaces of objects to be cleaned.